Steal Your Heart
by Pink Flamingos Are Tacky
Summary: Just when things start to go right with Vaughn, Sydney is put to the test when two men go after her heart. When she is captured by Sark, she becomes unsure if she wants Vaughn to rescue her and be her "Guardian Angel" after all.
1. Default Chapter

Authors' Notes: Okay, here goes. This is a joint story written by none other than UsagiPrincess (As Long As You're Here) and PrincessScout91589 (Fallen Angel). Basically what it comes down to is that we're two extremely bored teenagers just trying to make it through school. When you're reading, you might want to try and guess who wrote each chapter (yes, we are both writing different chapters). Occasionally, you may get an author's note from one of us individually, but just keep watching for these. Enjoy, and please review!  
  
UsagiPrincess: Hi everyone. No, I'm not abandoning Life Goes On, yet.this is just one of three joint stories that I'm writing with my buds. Look for the other ones coming. Enjoy the first chapter, which (I'll go ahead and tell you) is PrincessScout91589's chapter. Please review!! :)  
  
Chapter One  
  
*Japan*  
  
"Okay, Dixon, I'm going radio silent."  
  
"Be careful Syd," he replied. I just loved these smash and grab jobs. This one was as simple as they got. I was in Japan, near the base of Mount Fuji, stealing a Rambaldi artifact from an underground cave. This letter was supposed to have directions to the secret lab of Rambaldi. The CIA had a field day with this one, seeing where they could get a fake letter to lead. I pressed a button on my necklace to connect me with CIA Headquarters.  
  
"Bootcamp, this is Freelancer, do you copy?"  
  
"Got you Freelancer." I recognized the voice: Vaughn. "What's your status?"  
  
"I'm in the cave, near the back. I should be less than a half mile away from the letter."  
  
"Good. No sign of Sark or anyone?"  
  
"No, but I've still got a half mile, you never know." I heard him laugh on the other end.  
  
"Way to be optimistic."  
  
"Thanks. I think I've reached the letter. I'm switching back to Dixon."  
  
"Okay, be careful." What, did everyone think I was going to go and get myself killed?  
  
"I will." I pressed the necklace again. "Dixon, I've got the letter. I'll meet you at the extraction point in twenty minutes."  
  
"Okay Syd, see you there." I started heading for the mouth of the cave when the ground started to shake. I switched to CIA signal and hoped that they knew what was going on.  
  
"Bootcamp, what's going on? The ground's shaking."  
  
"Syd, it's an earthquake, get out of there. Now!" I didn't know earthquakes came on this fast. Rocks started falling from the ceiling, giving me the great idea to run. As I approached the mouth of the cave, a figure came into view.  
  
"Ms. Bristow, lovely to see you again," Sark said mockingly.  
  
"I would talk to you, but I kind of have a cave falling on my head!" I retorted, started to run past him. He grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. "Okay, hands off, jerk!" I jumped as Vaughn's voice streamed into my ear.  
  
"Is that Sark?" he asked. I heard the worry in his voice. It made me smile for a second, but then I remembered the situation. "Syd, there's a gun in your back pocket. Aim at it Sark. Hopefully he'll let go."  
  
"Thanks!" I pulled the gun from my pocket and put it to Sark's head. "Now, like I said, hands off." Sark immediately dropped my arm, but he smiled.  
  
"Temper, temper, Ms. Bristow. You'll get away this time, but think more next time." He ran off, leaving me standing alone in the cave.  
  
"You all right, Syd?"  
  
"Yeah, Vaughn. I'm okay. Looks like my guardian angel strikes again" I practically heard him smile on the other end.  
  
"You've got to meet Dixon, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll see you later."  
  
"See you at home," I started running to the place where I was to meet Dixon. He was waiting in the jeep SD-6 had provided.  
  
"Syd, where'd you go? Suddenly you went radio silent in the middle of talking to me."  
  
"Sark showed up, he must have had a signal jammer. I got the letter." I pulled out the fake, almost laughing. After analyzing it, it would lead SD- 6 to the middle of Zimbabwe. Good luck finding a secret lair there.  
  
Dixon started driving and I got sort of sleepy. I curled up in my seat and let myself drift off to sleep.  
  
I awoke to bright lights around me.  
  
"Dixon, are we at the airport?"  
  
"Almost, Syd. You've been out for a half hour. You should get up now though. We'll be there in five minutes."  
  
I sat up and looked at my surroundings. We were at the edge of Tokyo, where the buildings were between skyscrapers and four level buildings. I saw the airport ahead, awaiting our arrival.  
  
Dixon pulled up to a private terminal, where a jet was waiting for us. I got on and saw Sloane had gone all out on this one. The jet had nice recline-able seats and mini TV's by a couple seats.  
  
I sat down and looked at the movie choices. Mission: Impossible, nah too close to home. Star Wars: Episode Two, yeah, like I needed to see a movie about a forbidden relationship. I soon settled with Legally Blonde. But five minutes into the flight, I fell back asleep, getting the rest I sorely needed.  
  
The plane landed at about eight-o-clock, LA time. I left the plane and went straight home. Sure, I had gotten a good night's sleep, but I had to check in with Francie.  
  
"Hey, Francie?" I ventured.  
  
"You home already? I thought we weren't supposed to see you until next year!" she called back sarcastically.  
  
"Funny, very funny. Why did you open up a restaurant when you could have opened a comedy bar?"  
  
"Sorry, Syd. Where were you this time?"  
  
"Japan. Boring foreign client who only spoke Japanese, so I had to have this translator." I had planned what I was going to say a while ago. "I think he tried to ask me out, but I said I didn't understand with his accent."  
  
"Come on, you haven't gone out in so long! I swear, working for that bank is going to be the death of you.  
  
If only she knew, I thought, if only she knew. 


	2. Chapter Two

UsagiPrincess: Okay, since I'm uploading, I feel like writing a note, lol. In case you didn't figure it out, that was PrincessScout91589's chapter and here comes mine. If I had my way, and this was my story, this would be filled with tons of Syd/Sark stuff. Unfortunately, someone is conspiring to kill me if I don't control myself in writing this, so I can't get too Syd/Sark, or else there won't be any more from me, lol.  
  
I'd also like to say here, since nothing else of mine is ready to go, that I am back on the Syd/Vaughn side of the fence and everyone is happy about it. I'll still write Syd/Sark, since everything is there for them (like Syd/Vaughn, only better) but I just wanted to warn everyone that I may suddenly start writing Syd/Vaughn. I guess I was inspired by last night's episode (which was fantastic, by the way.) Anyhow, enough of my aimless rambling. On with it!  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Vaughn followed me as I dug through filing cabinets, trying to find Irina's old records.  
  
"You're sure that Sark didn't do anything to you?"  
  
I sighed. We'd been over this ten times. "Once again," I began. For the good-looking handler, my mind added. "Sark grabbed my arm and told me to give him the letter. That's when you reminded me about the gun. I put it to his head and he backed off."  
  
"We're sending you to Afghanistan," he said.  
  
"I take it that the CIA is docking pay and getting rid of female agents first," I said sarcastically, not happy to be sent to a wasteland that was constantly being bombed. "Really, Vaughn," I continued. "What the heck are you doing sending me to Afghanistan?"  
  
"Don't blame me- blame Kendall and Rambaldi. That guy really knows how to hide his stuff."  
  
"Please tell me that this isn't another cave trip."  
  
"It's not. You're going to rob a grave in Kabul. Here's the details."  
  
***  
  
I crept into the cemetery.  
  
"Hello Clarice." Oh boy, it was Vaughn trying to be scary over a radio. I smiled.  
  
"Are we trying to be scary, or annoying?" I asked teasingly. "Which grave am I robbing?"  
  
"Actually, you're not robbing a grave. The stone should be next to a weeping willow."  
  
I found the willow and found a stone next to it. "I found it."  
  
"1892-1974?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Code is 7241-9891."  
  
"724," I repeated, pressing the numbers. The headstone moved back, revealing stairs.  
  
"Good luck, Sydney."  
  
"Uh, Vaughn, are you sure that this is the right place?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, turning on his video link to me. He saw something move in the shadows. It looked like a person.  
  
"Freelancer! Abort!"  
  
"What?" I was roughly yanked back. A hand covered my mouth. I opened to bite it, but felt a gun placed at my head.  
  
"Don't you dare," a voice told me. It was faintly accented. I rolled my eyes. Sark, I thought.  
  
"Sydney?" Vaughn's voice came through the radio.  
  
Sark uncovered my mouth. "Guess who?" he asked with a cocky grin.  
  
"Rambaldi," I said sarcastically. "He wants his artifacts back."  
  
"Where is the microphone?" he slowly pulled back the trigger.  
  
I pulled the microphone off of my jacket and handed it to him.  
  
"Hello there, Agent Vaughn," Sark said.  
  
"Syd? Where are you?"  
  
"Feel free to send in a CIA team for Ms. Bristow, but unfortunately, she'll be out of the county." He shut off the microphone and I slipped the now useless earpiece out of my ear.  
  
Sark pushed me into the passenger seat of the truck.  
  
"I see no need to restrain you, as I have a gun. You jump and I shoot- it's that simple.  
  
I nodded, wondering where he was taking me . He led me to a dimly lit cell-ish room. I sat down in the cold metal chair, waiting for him to tie me up. Instead, he stood across from me.  
  
"I need you assistance in taking down Sloane."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I have my reasons."  
  
"What are those?"  
  
"I can't tell you."  
  
"They can't be that bad."  
  
"He killed my parents," he told me quietly. What was I doing having a conversation with Sark. Still, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.  
  
"I'm sorry," I said quietly.  
  
He stood to leave and pointed to the cot. "You can sleep here for the night until I can get you a more comfortable room."  
  
He leaned down and quickly kissed me. There wasn't enough time for me to even try and pull away. He left the room.  
  
I started up at the ceiling and thought about Vaughn rescuing me, if he could find me, although I.I wasn't really sure if I wanted him to. 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
She was gone. Sark said not to look for her, but then again, she was gone. There was no way to track her; he'd smashed the com-link. Kendall was freaking out, but not as much as I was. What was he going to do to her? What if she didn't come back? Oh no, don't go into the "what ifs." Kendall came over to my desk along with Jack.  
  
"So, you guys get anything yet?"  
  
"For the fortieth time, Agent Vaughn, NO!" Kendall yelled. Well, somebody forgot to drink his coffee today. "All we know is that she was in Kabul and now she isn't."  
  
"Well, looks like you got as far as I did, only it took you longer. Sark said he was taking her out of the country and the com came back on a minute later and Sark said something about Sloane."  
  
"Didn't Sark already go after Sloane?"  
  
"Yeah, but only to make an alliance. We don't know if it was a real alliance or a strategic one."  
  
"So he may have wanted to kill him all along."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Okay, we have to assume the worst. Sark has Sydney and he's not giving her back."  
  
"So how do we find her?" Jack finally chimed in. I could tell he was scared. His face was a dead-like pale.  
  
"We ask the only person who really knows Sark. Irina," I said. Kendall and Jack both knew I was right. I knew what Jack was thinking, so I answered his question. "Yeah, I'll go talk to her." I was always stuck being the messenger boy. I got my visitor's badge from my desk and headed for the cell.  
  
The gates clanged open as I entered the room. There she was, the treacherous snake herself. She was sitting on her bed, staring out the window. She heard me enter and turned around.  
  
"Agent Vaughn," she nodded her head in a welcome manner.  
  
"He took her? I told the idiot to stay away from her!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Before I left, I had a meeting with him. I said that I was doing a secret mission and that I may not come back. I told him that she was not to be harmed, because she was my daughter. He took the news pretty badly. He had been almost like a son to me for years. He couldn't believe I had a daughter. He's had a vengeance ever since."  
  
"Where would he take her?"  
  
"Where else? Russia."  
  
"Why Russia?"  
  
"It's where he grew up. I've known him since he was a little boy. I raised him after his parents were killed," her voice trailed off. "That's why he wants her!" she gasped.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Sloane killed his parents when he was nine. He made an alliance with Sloane to find out his secrets and exploit them. He had hoped that Sloane would be rejected from the Alliance and he would take his spot. Then, if it all went as planned, he would take down the Alliance."  
  
"Wait, so he was a double agent too? He was doing the same work as us!"  
  
"Yes, now though Sloane is becoming too strong. He wants him eliminated, and soon."  
  
"What do you suggest we do?"  
  
"I say we, and I mean me included, go and get her."  
  
*Sydney's POV*  
  
Russia  
  
I sat in my cell, drifting in and out of sleep. I reviewed my situation in my head. On one hand, I could help Sark. After all, Sloane would be gone. But as Kendall had said, the CIA is not in the killing business. Plus, what would people think? I had attempted to kill a guy twice. If Sark pulled another non-kill to prove his "loyalty," I'd be dead. I know I said earlier that I might not want to be saved, but now I did. I really wanted Vaughn to save me.  
  
The door opened and Sark stepped in.  
  
"Sydney, I hope you stepped well."  
  
"On this piece of crap, sure."  
  
"No need for sarcasm, I was only being polite."  
  
"Or cocky. Same thing."  
  
"Now, we need to discuss our.business matters."  
  
"Hey, I killed Sloane once, and you screwed it up. No second chances in this type of life."  
  
"Okay, then I'll give you.let's say three choices. One, you can help me and I'll let you go. Two, you don't help me and I'll kill you. Or three, you don't help and I'll kill your little CIA boyfriend who we found snooping around."  
  
"Vaughn?"  
  
"Yes, I have him, and apparently, you want him." Isn't it obvious yet?  
  
"Let him go, please. He has nothing to do with me. He isn't my boyfriend."  
  
"Fine, then you'll help me."  
  
Kill me if you want. I won't help you."  
  
"I'm sorry, I can't accept that answer."  
  
"Then I pick secret answer number four, kick your ass!" I jumped off the rock-like bed and flew at him. Of course I forgot that I was still pretty weak from the last mission. Sark almost instantly took control of the fight. Soon, I had a cut above my eye, a bruised cheek and probably a broken rib. Blood dripped into me eye, so I held up a hand to stop Sark.  
  
"I'm sorry. I had to do that. You gave me no choice." He walked out, leaving me alone.  
  
A tear slid down my face. I hadn't cried in so long and I chose now to break down. For once in my life, I was scared. There was no way out for me this time. No Sydney Bristow, super spy. Just one girl, alone and scared. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four  
  
It wasn't long before I had almost completely soaked the thin blanket that Sark had given me with blood from the cut above my eye and the tears that were now running down my face.  
  
I heard the door to the main hallway open and I quickly wiped the tears from my face as Sark stood in front of my cell.  
  
"Come to break what's left of my ribs?" I asked coldly.  
  
He gave me what I thought was supposed to be a sympathetic look and unlocked the cell door. "I believe you jumped me first, Miss Bristow. I was merely defending myself. Come with me," he said. I grabbed the thin blanket and pressed it to my eye and followed him.  
  
He led me to the upper half of the base and motioned for me to sit in the chair. I watched as he walked away and came back with a suture kit and put on a pair of gloves.  
  
I stood up. "No," I started backing up toward the door.  
  
"Sydney, sit," he said calmly, setting down the needle.  
  
"I'm not going to let you put in my stitches," I said.  
  
"Sydney, you need stitches," he reasoned. "You're going to have to face that you may not be rescued for awhile, or even at all. I am going to ask you one more time, sit down before I have to hurt you or tie you down."  
  
I relented and sat down in the chair. He slowly started to suture my wound and I flinched.  
  
"Are you lying?" I asked out of nowhere.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked. He finished suturing the wound. He backed away and I looked in the mirror. The stitches were so small that I could barely see them.  
  
"Are you lying about my handler?"  
  
Sark looked up as he cell phone rang. He nodded, said a few words and then turned to leave.  
  
"Are you going to answer my question?" I asked.  
  
He turned back around. "Stay here," he said. "I was lying before," he said grimly. "I'm not anymore. Stay here until I come back. I'll move you to a new room then."  
  
***  
  
"Agent Vaughn," said Sark, acknowledging the new prisoner.  
  
"What do you want, Sark?" asked Vaughn.  
  
"That's actually the same thing that I'd like to ask you," he said cockily. "What are you doing here? Come to rescue your precious Agent Bristow?"  
  
"So she is here," Vaughn said quietly.  
  
"Of course she is, Agent Vaughn, and doing quite well considering that she had a few stitches above her eye," Sark baited him.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Vaughn lunged at Sark and stopped before he hit the bars.  
  
"I did nothing to her, Agent Vaughn. She made the mistake of attacking me. I fought back and won."  
  
He turned to leave.  
  
"Does she know that I'm here?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Yes," said Sark as he opened the door to leave, "she does."  
  
***  
  
I paced back and forth, waiting for Sark to return. Vaughn was here! He had come after me!  
  
Sark came back through the door. "Come with me," he said. I nodded and he led me up to a makeshift apartment. There was a large bed in the center and a door, which I figured led to a bathroom.  
  
"Thank you," I said quietly, figuring that he could be keeping me in that horrible cramped cell.  
  
"I'll bring you something to eat later. If you cooperate, I will allow you to see Agent Vaughn."  
  
***  
  
"Where the hell is Vaughn?" Jack frantically tried to make contact with him.  
  
"This wouldn't have happened if you had let me go in with him. I know this base by heart," argued Irina.  
  
"And let you out of my sight?"  
  
"Jack."  
  
"No, Irina."  
  
"I could have helped. I know exactly where he'd be keeping them."  
  
"And that is?"  
  
"Only I know."  
  
"You're not going anywhere."  
  
She sat back in the chair and finally opened the van door.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Saving my daughter," she said coldly. "Either come, or don't."  
  
***  
  
I was rudely jolted out of my sleep by a sharp knock.  
  
"Come in!" I groggily called.  
  
The door opened. It was Sark.  
  
"Miss Bristow," Sark said quietly as I sat up. "Come with me."  
  
I pulled my hair back into its ponytail as he led me into a stairwell and down two flights of stairs.  
  
I knew where I was being taken. I was being taken to Vaughn. 


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five  
  
Vaughn's POV  
  
She would be here soon. I was scared: scared she was hurt, scared that I couldn't be her "guardian angel" for once.  
  
I heard the door open down the hall. The footsteps echoed as they approached. I lifted my head from my hands as they stopped in front of my cell. The sight I saw when I looked up would stay embedded in my mind forever.  
  
She was standing there: face red, her cheek swollen, somewhat hunched over. There were still a few tears on her face. She walked in, trailing Sark behind her.  
  
"I'll give you two some time to.reminisce." I went to Sydney, sweeping her into an embrace.  
  
"He said he was going to kill you. I got mad an attacked."  
  
"I know, Syd, I know."  
  
"I just wanted to save you. I wanted to be the angel."  
  
"Thank you, you were an angel. My angel." I heard her laugh between tears. She moved her head from my shoulder and looked me in the eye.  
  
"Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"  
  
"No, I just got here."  
  
"How did you find me?"  
  
"I got some help from.the expert," I saw her eyes widen.  
  
"My mother helped you?"  
  
"And your father. They're in a van outside." She walked over to the brick bed and sat down.  
  
"Sorry, I'm really tired. I lost a lot of blood." I walked over and sat next to her, slipping my arm around her.  
  
"Vaughn?"  
  
"Yeah, Syd?"  
  
"Thanks for trying. I'm glad you're here."  
  
"Me too." We sat in silence for a moment, and then she leaned over on my shoulder. I mindlessly stroked her hair. Soon, she was asleep and half snoring lightly. I laid her head down onto the pillow, if you could even call it that and continued stroking her hair. It was true, I was actually glad that I was here to comfort her.  
  
I heard the familiar footsteps in the hall. Sark appeared in front of my door. He did not look amused.  
  
"Well, it looks like you two got nice and cozy."  
  
"She wouldn't be tired if you hadn't beaten her up!"  
  
"As I've said before, Mr. Vaughn, she jumped me."  
  
"So? You didn't have to half -kill her."  
  
"Whatever. I've come to bring her back to her room."  
  
"No. You need to leave her here. She's tired and moving her will just wake her up."  
  
"Well, she'll be glad to know you care, but I don't. I will not allow her to stay." He was mad now.  
  
"That's too bad. Because she is. And remember, she may not have had the strength to fight, but I do."  
  
"And I suggest that you remember that I have a gun and you don't."  
  
"If you kill me, Sydney will never help you. Go away."  
  
"What makes you so sure that she'll be emotionally distressed if you die?" I didn't see Sydney shift behind me. She must have awoken when I said he name.  
  
"I don't know if she would be, but I do know this. I love her, and if you lay another hand on her, I'll kill you." Sark's face went from cocky to somewhat scared.  
  
"Fine. I'll give you two a couple more minutes."  
  
***  
  
Syd's POV  
  
I can't believe that he said that. He must've thought I was still sleeping, because he had said out loud that he loved me. Sark left and Vaughn came back to me and again, stroked my hair. I couldn't fake being asleep much longer, so I opened my eyes.  
  
"Vaughn?"  
  
"Syd, hey. How'd you sleep?"  
  
"Okay. Who was yelling?"  
  
"Sark was. He was being a butt and saying he wanted to move you back to your cell. I said no because you needed sleep."  
  
"Thanks for caring, at least someone does."  
  
"What are you talking about? A lot of people care about you."  
  
"Yeah, but for dumb reasons. My dad protects me because he doesn't want me to "fraternize" with the enemy, AKA my mother. Sloane only cares because he doesn't want to lose a good agent. Kendall only cares because if I die, his butt is on the line." A tear fell down my cheek. Vaughn wiped it away, smiling.  
  
"Hey, don't cry. That's not true. Your dad cares because you're his daughter. Sloane and Kendall care because you're a great agent and if they lose you, they will lose the best agent they've ever met." I blushed under my tears.  
  
"Thanks. You always know how to cheer me up," I hugged him, knowing I was safe in his arms. Suddenly, I knew I had to tell him what I'd heard. He had always trusted me and never lied to me. I couldn't lie to him. "Vaughn?"  
  
"Yeah, Syd?"  
  
"I heard you arguing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"With Sark. I heard you say that you.uh.you said you loved me." Vaughn's face shifted from a smile to a look of surprise.  
  
"Um, well.I." I cut off his stuttering instantly.  
  
"First of all, I think it was really brave that you said that to Sark. Second, I love you too." I really caught him off guard with that one. He stared at me for a moment with a look of shock and happiness. His face burst into a smile and he let out a small laugh.  
  
"Really? You do?"  
  
"With all my heart." I leaned forward, not taking this moment for granted. I deepened the kiss, knowing a chance like this may not present itself again. Vaughn and I were so entranced; we didn't hear the two pairs of footsteps entering the cell. We did however, hear the people remark with surprise.  
  
"Sydney!"  
  
"Agent Vaughn!" 


End file.
